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Gran Bahia Principe La Romana - San Pedro de Macoris — 
Location: Beach front - South Coast - San Pedro de Macoris - 45 min from Santo Domingo Airport
20 min from La Romana Airport - 2 hours from Punta Cana Airport
All-inclusive - 400 rooms
Description from resort website: All Inclusive 24 Hours - 1 Buffet restaurant, 4 a la carte restaurants (Italians, Mexican, Chinese and Seafood) - Pizzeria - 5 Bars including swim-up bar - Sports Bar - Mini-club and supervised children's activities Separate children's pool
Children's Playground - Casino - Santana Beach Resort Hotel & Casino offers its guests special rates at the Guavaberry Golf course, which is located approximately 20 minute distance.
 ~ Reviews posted on this page — 12
 ~ Map of Resort
 ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~ 1,
2, 3
 ~ Dominican Republic Travel Forum
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana |
Cindi ~ NB, Canada |
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May 2009Arrival: April 16-23
Arrival was long as we flew into the Punta Cana airport and after dropping off a couple other resorts we finally made it,, Check in was fast and friendly.
Rooms:
Rooms were amazing,,i had been to this resort 3 yrs ago when it was Santana Beach and they have done a lot of work on the rooms,, we had 2 double beds sitting area with a couch/day bed, bathroom had 2 marble sinks tub/shower(car wash almost) with 2 jets on the wall,, a hand held shower and the "rain" shower head over top of you,, fridge was stocked every day room was very clean.
Restaurants and Bars:
I only ate at the Main buffett and the "beach grill " at lunch food was very good,, right temperature but with any resort by the end it gets tiring ,, almost the same things every day,, breakfast there was always bacon,, some days hashbrowns,, so again food was good,, no one got sick.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach was good,, water a lil "murky" but i did go in and they have a "rock slide" just off the beach if u wanted to try and venture onto it. I was a lil leery about going into the water as when i was here 3 yrs ago i got stung by a jelly fish,, but they have done a lot of work to the beach,, and its not bad and not nearly as much seaweed. Pool was amazing its big and clean except on windy days there was some "debree" but they were quick to clean it up,, the swim up bar is good,,, if u go say hi to Job, Eduardo, and Carlos,, tell them the crazy canadians say hello!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
I did not do any tours as i have friends in San Pedro (a small city 15 mins to the left on the highway from the resort) so i travelled by local bus in most nights to visit.
Other Comments:
This is agin a great resort,, every thing u need is here and agin as long as u r not a die hard ocean person,, ull be pleasantly suprised. Once thing i didnt like is in the evenings its a lil "slow" and not many at the disco,, and the resort is a lil isolated so there really wasnt an option of goin off resort to another disco. But all in all id go back to this resort in a heart beat!
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Kerri ~ Toronto | |
March 2009
Arrival
Great Reception for a late night arrival. Drinks and music waiting for us when we got off the bus.
Rooms
Rooms looked clean and were very well dressed with flowers and sheets were turned down every night. Just realized after reading another review that I know now I did not get bitten by mosquitos but bed bugs. Couldnt figure out why my bug spray was not working. Deep woods off should have done the trick but they were bed bugs not mosquitos.
Restaurants and Bars
oK food but like any other resort, after a week you get tired of it. Tuesday nights dinner turned into Wednesdays lunch. I was ok from Tuesday to Sat. but started getting the runs on Sat. bad. by Monday I could barley make it to the washroom in time. The bus ride to the airport was tourture. Couldnt wait for the bus to line up and I ran off to find a washroom. Flight home brought news of many people sick with the runs and some other issues.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Pool and grounds are beautifull. But the beach water smells of sewage. Found out there is what they call a river 20 kl from the resourt and I think it is more like a sewer run off. Didnt go in the water but was quite content at the pool.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Animation team works very hard. Non stop smiles on their faces. They work so hard. Great staff all round except for the powerless bunch at the front desk.
Other Comments
A few issues......as soon as we got into the room, I got locked in the bathroom. Locksmith came within 2 minutes and got me out. Asked for 2 bouble beds and got 1 kingsize. No one at the desk has any power to do anything about issues and basically say the manager is not in anytime you want to take things higher. Had a problme with the in-room safe and could not use it for a day. When we asked for a credit they said too bad. Asked for the Manager of Operations was not very sympathatic. Not worth getting worked up about it.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Cindy ~ Fergus, ON | |
March 2009
Once we did arrive at the resort the check in was a breeze.
Please don't be discouraged by the negative reviews of this resort. It was simply stunning. We were a bit apprehensive because of the reviews of the beach....which turns out were unfounded. The water is not clear but we spent hours and hours in it. It's warm and calm and still that lovely colour. The beach is spectacular with a forerst of beautiful tall palm trees and lots of huts and loungers. There is a beach bar/buffet restaurant and the restaurant at the end of the resort is a lovely little gem (food was not amazing, but good there). We spent every night watching the sunset (very romantic) and had a thoroughly lovely week. Every morning after a late breakfast we tried the "drink of the day" at the lobby bar and our new favourite is Mojitos. We went to the lobby bar after dinner to watch the show and Manuel was awesome as were the rest or the bartenders...never had to wait. The buffet restaurant was really good just too bad they didn't open the doors and make it an open air like so many of the other resorts in the DR. Out of the 3 a la carte restaurants the Gourmet was our favouite...the beef entree was to die for. Our room was on the second floor and while it didn't have a spectacular view, it was a beauiful room with cathedral ceilings and the bathroom has double marble sink and a badet :). The weather was perfect...a bit of cloud to allow us to spend every moment we could on the beach, and the evenings were cool enough to sleep with the ceiling fan and the patio door open -- perfect. All in all we found honestly absolutely nothing but good things to say about this resort and will (and have) recommended it to friends. Go...you'll NOT be disappointed.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Canada | |
March 2009
We are very well travelled in the Caribbean Islands and have several years of experiences with "all inclusives" and this is the first time I am writing a review. We understand that things do not always run on time, in fact seldom do, we are not too picky about the food, basically if I do not have to cook it and no one gets sick we are easy to satisfy. We do not expect the service at Ritz, but expect that the staff will do their best to accommodate you if you are reasonable.
Here is the great, good, no so good, bad and ugly. You can decide which elements are important to you and hopefully make an informed decision so that you can enjoy your stay.
I am sorry to start with the bad and ugly, but read on as there is also lots of great to good.
UNACCEPTABLE
BED BUGS beware. I understand that even the best hotels can have bed bugs, but personally I do not like to sleep with them and until my visit to Bahia Principe La Romana, I had not. It started with mystery welts on the legs, back, neck and arms, that I thought could be mosquito bites (having had no experience with bed bugs.)
Since I am not prone to mosquito bites (they also spray each night) I started to have doubts and finally the light of suspicion went on when I would awake each morning with additional bites. I voiced my concerns and suspicions to the management, but was dismissed. This attitude is totally unacceptable and irresponsible! They did not seem to care that bed bugs can quickly spread room to room!
I was checked back home and confirmed bed bugs!
Please note that the room was well cleaned each day and the sheets were clean, but once bed bugs are in the mattress or furniture, there is little you can do. I suggest you check your mattress before you accepting a room (something that had not even crossed my mind, but there are signs to look for.)
We stayed in the Golden Club and had robes and slippers, turn down services and our fridge was constantly stocked. This was nice, but do not recommend Golden Club, the value you get is not worth it.
Our room was on the ground floor, though we had pre-requested second floor. It looked onto the garden, but with the Golden package were told we would have beach or pool view. We were close to the ocean, but not what we had expected or were lead to believe. The air in the room was a bit stagnant and damp, but using the air conditioner helped out. Unfortunately with our window open there was no breeze and the air did not circulate.
I strongly recommend you request a second floor room. The second floor rooms are more breezy, have vaulted ceilings which give you a good feeling of space and are brighter.
Basically the Golden Club is on one side of the pool and the regular package rooms on the other. We offered to move to the regular package service to get a better room, but the front desk was of no help. They showed no flexibility at all and told us we could not move from the Golden Club side, even though we were fully prepared to forgo Golden Club services without wanting a reimbursement for the difference in price.
Management was, in our case, completely inflexible and did not even attempt to try to find a solution. We were offered to change hotels three days later as they had over-booked for that period and would be sending unknowing guests 4 hours away to another Bahia. We were not prepared to lose a full day of vacation in a bus. That was not a reasonable option.
The standard response was come back in one hour, my manager is not here and when I did go back in one hour, I received the same answer over and over again. In the end decided to stay where we were. (little did I know the price to pay for not pushing harder.) Guests with the regular package had the same variety of rooms , so if you think you are paying the Golden Club package for a guaranteed room location or better, think again.
While the beach itself was absolutely lovely, the not so good part of the beach is that you can not walk past the resort's defined beach area. Number one, the beach is in a bay and is surrounded by a rocky shore line that is not conducive for walking. It is also very isolated. For someone who loves those long beach walks, while it is a nice stretch of beach, it takes 10 minutes to get from one end to the other. There are also factories on the other side of the bay blowing black smoke into the air (sugar cane.) It was far away and did not bother us, but I prefer the view of an open ocean.
The ocean water is not lovely, in fact quite the opposite. I have never seen ocean water as murky as this. Almost no one was in the water and it was not inviting. For those who love to spend the day in the ocean water, this is not the place. You can not see your hand or foot submerged under 10 inches. We love snorkelling and enjoy being in the Caribbean blue green waters, this was a major disappointment. The water is not inviting and many other guests had the same reaction, particularly those who like the beach.
If you care about the fitness room, it is small, the equipment is old and limited, and the room is set back behind the hotel. There seems to be a missed opportunity to have an open air fitness room overlooking the ocean or grounds. Instead three bikes are inches away from a mirror wall in a claustrophobic room. The exercise room does not rival a 2 star.
At times there is a strong Sewage smell depending on how the wind blows. We went for a walk pas the lobby gate and discovered the sewage treatment plant is close behind the hotel and the smell was nauseating. The smell is so strong and this is clearly a problem depending on the wind.
If you like to stay on the resort Bahia is a beautiful place to stay, but if you also like to walk a bit outside the compound, there is no where to go. Bahia is very isolated.
GREAT
The grounds were immaculate. The resort is keep clean and the gardens and design of the grounds is truly beautiful. Lush flowers, mature trees, buildings were well maintained, beautiful lobby to enjoy a drink or to sit around after dinner. Pool is beautifully designed and clean (yes very cold, but not important to us.) The entrance to the resort is impressive and provides a great first impression of the physical grounds.
VERY GOOD
The rooms themselves were clean (with the exception of my experience), the maid did an excellent job, the rooms are nicely decorated and spacious. The bathroom was very clean, we always had hot water, shower was not great, but was not a deal breaker.
The beach itself was beautiful, extremely clean and very well maintained. Raked in the morning and there was always someone close by to keep it clean.
The beach sand was clean and there are gorgeous palm groves lining the beach. Lots of chairs & shade available. There will always be people who wake up at 6:00am to reserve choice spots, but there are chairs that run the length of the beach, you can always find umbrella and chairs away from the noise of the animators. The beach itself is well maintained and completely private...no selling allowed.
GOOD
The food was good, average "All inclusive" food. We have had a lot better and a lot worst. There is little variety, limited fresh sea food (go figure), but overall it was ok. Enjoyed fresh fruit. No one got sick and most important I did not have to cook. We went to all three a la carte restaurants and they were ok as well, but nothing exceptional. Generally we do not come to for the food.
We are not big drinkers, but the drinks served at the bar lobby were inconsistent. It depended on who was pouring. If you are picky about your drink, choose a bar- tender who knows what they are doing, otherwise, a Tom Collins and Mojito will taste the same. Overall the bar-tenders, as well as waitresses and waiters, were all very helpful and tried to provide a good service, which they did, especially as we usually tipped. The expresso and Irish coffees were especially good.
Overall good holiday, but some down sides.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Irene ~ Lupton | |
February 2009
Arrival
We had a very good flight and trip to the hotel was short. We were checked in on the bus so no long lines.
Rooms
the room was overlooking the pool quite near the beach. Very clean and spacious with nice size bathroom. The maid kept everything nice and came in the evening to turn down the bed etc.
Restaurants and Bars
excellent, no problmes with the food and the specialty restuarants were good. The Gourmnet was a bit slow. No other complaints. The buffet was great and lots to choose from. Deserts were reallly good. could do with a better omelette maker. Staff very helpful and friendly.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
the beach was lovely and a nice little bay to walk around. There is a bar at the end which serves drinks and snacks. Staff very friendly. nO problem with murky water and always lots of loungers around. People tend to save the loungers at the pool. Water in the pool quite cool
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Entertainment and activities were okay. The usual things that every hotel has
Other Comments
I would not hesitate to go back to this resort. Just a nice size and no problems with mosquitoes or the food. A couple of people got sick, but that happens at any resort. We found the choice of food was good and everything was very clean. i was a little hesitant after reading some of the reviews, but happy none of them was true
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Diane ~ Oakville, Ontario, Canada | |
January 2009
Arrival: Dec 8-15
Gran Bahia Principe La Romana, Dec 8-15, 2008, 4 adults no kids. We booked with Transat Holiday co-serviced with Skyservice Boeing 700 series plane no upgrade to first class available. Plane has one aisle with 3 seats per side, very cramped seating. Pre-booked our seats online paid $15 extra each seat each way. Toronto to Samana was 3 hrs + 45 min, every one got off in Samana to re fuel, changed to summer clothes at the airport. Back on the plane for a 22 minute flight to La Romana, lots of seat mix ups. People that got on in Samana were going back to Toronto via La Romana. Bring your own snack for the plane, food was gross. Flight home was non stop for us but had already stopped in Samana to pick up the Toronto bound passengers. The pre-booked seats were double booked, didn't get the seats we pre-booked or our money back.
Bus ride is 40-45 minutes to resort. The resort used to be called Santana Beach and is west of La Romana airport near a town called El Soco. Link to map
There is very little outside of the resort. We chose to stay on the resort property since we were only there for sun, food, drink and a quiet relaxing kid-free vacation which is exactly what we got with the exception of the Friday and Saturday nights. There were very few children and teenagers, mostly 40 plus.
Resort is very clean, in good repair, great staff, not busy, no rush to reserve a sun lounge at pool or beach. Resort has a small outdoor shopping area with several souvenir shops, jewelry, tobacco, convenience store, internet cafe, medical service, photo shop, chapel, pool table, spa, gym, casino (casino is not affiliated at all with the resort), disco, tennis courts. The nightly entertainment was good especially Michael Jackson show, disco and casino were empty. We borrowed the kayaks one day for a trip out to the small island off the resort, nothing there, very peaceful. We joined in the beach volleyball, water volleyball, water aerobics and bingo.
We upgraded to Royal Golden which gave us the private lounge for all requests, payments, check out, free unlimited access to internet, coffee machine in room, 24 hour room service, turn down service, fresh towels 2x/day. Paid $32 US for use of the in room safe for the week.
On arrival at the airport after collecting our baggage we spotted the Transat rep and were handed our welcome envelope with our room keys, resort info and map and the entertainment schedule. Our resort bracelets were put on at the airport then we were led to the air conditioned bus for the 45 minute ride to the resort where we were greeted with a welcome cocktail, music and dancing. Three nights at each of the a la carte restaurants were also pre-booked for us. Not all the a la carte restaurants are open every night so there is limited availability. We were able to change the reservations plus book a 4th. Book a la carte on Friday and Saturday nights for sure, the buffet is very busy.
The resort has 3 a la carte restaurants, Italian, (beef was excellent) Seafood, Gourmet. We ate at Italian 2x, beef was excellent. There are 2 buffets, one off the main lobby and one buffet at the beach/pool. Buffets were fresh, limited selection during the week, daily themes. Lobby buffet is larger and had a better lunch selection than the beach/pool buffet. There is a swim up bar at the pool and a quiet beach bar on the east side.
The weekends are busy with local Dominicans vacationing. Friday and Saturday were extremely busy. The line ups for the bars and buffet were quite long. The pool bar was lined up and excessively loud with music and partying as was an area of the beach and disco at night. It felt as though the resort transformed to a "spring break" environment.
Each afternoon the resort was sprayed for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were not a problem.
Villas 19, 21, 23, 25 27 are the best and are on the quiet side all facing the pool (27 faces the beach. We requested Villa 25, ground floor and were accommodated. Villas 11, 13, 15, 17 18 also face the pool but have noise of the construction behind them. All the other Villas face the outside of the resort. Adjoining rooms are also available.
We tipped the maid service each day in US dollars and the staff at the a la cartes although it was not expected. Should you make a purchase you will be given change in pesos so bring several small US bills, especially if you will be tipping.
Check out was swift, bus was on time, got to the airport in 50 minutes, had our bags checked in 10 minutes, through security in 5 minutes, shopped a bit at duty free, sat in the outdoor bar for 2 hours waiting to board the flight home. We were never charged the airport tax on departure.
Resort is in a very remote area, no other resorts around. The beach is scenic and secluded. Property surrounding the resort is under construction to be developed into a complex consisting of Villas, condos, marina, golf, sports and shopping, 6 million square meters of property - 6 to 7 year plan. We questioned the constant construction noise and clarity of the water and were told by the sales rep for the condos/villas that the developer is re-routing a river that currently flows into the beach area and is causing the water to be cloudy. You could not see the bottom as you walked out past your knees. The beach itself is beautiful, quiet, clean, sand was raked each morning. There was a barge just off the beach area constantly pumping black sludge into the fields beside the resort. Villa 10, 12, 14 & 16 had a view of this. Trucks were bringing clean sand to the edge of the beach and another machine was pumping the clean sand into the water. All of this made the west side of the beach near the buffet unbearably noisy, the east side was calm and peaceful.
In comparison we have been to Domincan 3 times - Iberostar La Romana Mar 07 and Iberostar Bavaro in Punta Cana March 06. Iberostar has a more elaborate food presentation, more activities such as a beach bar-b-q day, more lively animation staff but equally as talented and friendly. Punta Cana is a busy beach, beautiful white sand, windy, numerous resorts in a row, non-stop beach walking traffic, large beach market, water sports continuously and excursions available. La Romana Iberostar is over an hour east of Gran Bahia La Romana and a bit more active, clean water and beach, bike ride away from village of Bahahibe. Gran Bahia La Romana is a beautiful, extremely quiet, well kept resort - only complaints would be construction noise and cloudy water.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Alan & Janice M. ~ Langley, B.C. Canada | |
April 2008
My wife and I spent a week at the resort [March 20-27] and were pleasantly surprised.
We had read some of the negative reviews [after already booking the resort] and were afraid of vacationing there. If there is one flea or mosquito around it would find me for sure. Gratefully I / we didn't encounter flea, mosquito or wasp problems. Of the 3 insects we only saw a few wasps. The weather was pretty good, the resort spotless, the service good and the food suited us quite well. We didn't get sick or hear of anyone else getting sick. We thought the beach / bay was beautiful, although the ocean water wasn't crystal clear, it was passable. We swam in it every day, never used the beautiful pool. Our room was very nice and clean. Another nice circumstance ...... the resort wasn't over crowded. We could easily find lounges around the pool or thatched umbrellas on the beach. For our vacation we just wanted to relax, read, swim and enjoy the sun. We were not disappointed.
The only disappointment was the 2 1/2 hour van ride from the Punta Cana airport.
To see the poor living conditions, poverty and garbage throughout the journey was shocking. We hope they start to show some respect for their country and take measures before garbage and pollution destroy a lovely spot.
We would have no problem recommending the resort and would love to return.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Linda ~ Montreal, Quebec | |
April 2008
Just returned from this resort after one week (march 29 - April 5/08).
The resort is very impressive with a large lobby, running water fountains, gardens and clean spacious rooms.
The servers at the bars, restaurants, and other regular staff were friendly, polite and very helpful.The entertainment was very good, but sometimes the beat and music seemed repetitive after the first few evenings.The entertainers were really hard working and friendly much like the other regular staff.
The staff at the reception desk and the rep. for our Nolitours agency, were very casual and couldn't care less if we were there or not. The tour rep. Jose was rude and very difficult to deal with in general, and especially when we asked for 5 refunds for a trip that was booked. We had approximately 35 people in our group and from day one, someone was ill, from nausea to diarrhea to projectile vomiting. It was literally a person a day from whatever virus the resort harbors. A compromise was arranged for refunds through contacting the rep's supervisor, but Jose actually implied that our group coordinators were lying about the number of people having to drop out of the one scheduled event., due to illness. Jose was friendly only at the beginning of our stay when he didn't have to go out of his way for anyone.
The pool was extremely large and clean with plenty of lounge chairs for swimmers. The beach although very picturesque with palm trees and huts,had murky sea water.It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after reading reviews, but it wasn't a clean, clear sea. I am now suspicious of the river running into this bay part of the resort's shore line, it could be waste material from the resort itself or nearby towns. This also may be a reason why so many visitors were ill.We didn't have problems with sand fleas (as stated in other reviews) but we did have some mosquito bites although the whole resort was fumigated regularly between 6pm and 7 pm. The fog machine did cover everything in sight including the lobby, pool, people's drinks, cafe con leche, etc. I closed my balcony doors as soon as I heard the noise of the fumigator. There were never any warnings and if any one had respiratory problems, the fog would be problematic.
The all inclusive drinks were good to bad depending on which bar was making the drinks; the bars near the pool and beach seemed to water down the drinks and this too can be a reason for the illness, whether the ice was potable or not.
The buffet food was plentiful but the staple food was just served in different ways. The meat, fish, poultry were cooked on the same grill which caused some people to be ill because of allergies. The a la carte restaurants that we tried were the Italian and Le Gourmet. Both were dreadful, slow service and terrible food, 3 out of 5 people left there food and later some who ate ended up vomiting. I wonder how sanitary the whole kitchen areas really are. The burger/pizza shack near the mini market area was a big hit!
I have travelled for many years from "roughing it" to "5 star resorts" and I have never seen the number of people ill as in this resort.
Two other issues caused visitors annoyance and this was the $5 us dollars a day for a safety deposit box and $10 us dollars an hour to keep your room until 6 pm on the day of our noon check out. Some senior citizens were ill on our departure day and it took our group coordinator hours to have the management finally supply a room for the old couple (80 and 84 yrs of age)so they could lie down and try to recover for their 4 hour plane ride home. The front desk staff's behaviour in this situation was truly unacceptable.
The weather was warm when sunny; with a chilly wind when clouded over,we had 2 days of heavy rain.Not many people were actually on the beach whether that was due to the weather or the murky water, I don't know.
In general the resort is lovely but doesn't rate the 5 star rating. The food was only okay except for the restaurants which was really bad. The murky bay is just not the right location for this resort unless a filtration system is somehow put in place. The electricity did go off every evening but I felt this was part of the resort's charm. I could not recommend this resort; especially because of the number of people becoming ill. It didn't seem to be "just Montezuma's revenge" type of sickness, it seemed to have a much more eerie impact.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana |
Celine ~ Ile Perrot, Montreal, Quebec | |
March 2008
Arrival -
January 3 2008, We already had delay (2Hrs) got at the Hotel at 7H30am with a 2h30 of bus ride wirch was awful. greeting was not that great either.
Rooms -
did not get the room we we're suppose to get, my daughter had to sleep on the couch for a week, could not change rooms. then rooms are clean but we we're told to hide lot's of things cause some of the maids would leave with clothes and other personal stuff
Restaurants -
the food was always the same, not that great, my husband was realy sick, So bad we had to get the Doctor, but finally no Doctor was available.. no service there!!! my daughter too was sick. and for myself got sick on the way back home....the restaurant near the pool, the food was terrible. and there was suppose to be a BBQ bar on the beach and that was still under construction
Bars -
they would close earlier, the jakuzi bar was never open..the staff at the Bar would pass by everybody and not serve them. ot would take a long time to get a drink
Beach and Pools -
pool was very cold and full of buggs. but that was the only place you could swim since the beach is discusting, the water is brown and there is sand Fleas.. the people's legs we're just all bitten and swollen.
Grounds -
clean but run when you see the staff fumigate the grounds, that is realy bad to breath and it even get's in your room.
Activities -
the activities in the evening are so so.. some realy not for children
Tours -
we wanted to swim the daulphins, but that never happend since we we're 3 hours away from everything..and do not do shopping at the hotel or little shops in front. WAY TO EXPENSIVE
Conclusion -
I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL TO NOBODY... YOU CAN GET NICER PLACES FOR CHEAPER.
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Jo Ellen ~ California | |
March 2008
Arrival -
We were greeted at the airport the transfer company was waiting for us with sign, felt great to know that we didnt get left behind. Had a pleasent ride to resort a 45 min ride from Santa Domingo airport. Arrivied at the resort Late it was around 12:15 am and they were ready for us.
Rooms -
rooms were big and nice however our silder was broke and the maintance crew was there 1st thing in the morning to fix. Power goes out almost every night just for a very short time till the resorts genorator kicks in very fast but this happened almost every night while we were there it is a very common thing as to talking to other people from around the country know one really knows why??!Possible shorts in the system due to people trying to steal power!
Restaurants -
Food was good and there was always toooooo much. Never had a bad dish.
Bars -
Bars were there however I didnt drink any thing but diet sodas and coffee always there to help
Beach and Pools -
Never laid by the beach because you would see people all biten up with sand flee or noseeums so we stayed away from the beach. Water at the beach was very murkey due to the river flowing into water there. So we never swam in the water at the resort. Pool on the other hand was GREAT it is just what you see in the pictures always cleaning and testing the water, plenty of lounge chairs and lots of cabannas we spent or afternoon around the pool while in the Mornings we would be out on Dives. Other Beaches were beautiful and very BlueGrounds -
Absoutly beautiful well maintained, daily up keep at the Resort very clean. Nothing on the grounds.
Activities -
Typical all-inclusive type stuff going on from afternoon till around 1530 or some days later.
Tours -
We did the Santo Domingo tour it was nice but rush and crowded on the small bus. you really got to see alot. And learned some of the history Conclusion-
Yes, I would go back. We upgraded to the Golden room for the internet use and 2 times a day maid service with evening turn down service as well as room service it was worth the extra $15.00 a day per person. Day maids were great Evening ones didnt show up every evening
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Sunosunosun | |
January 2008
GBP La Romana, La Romana, D.R.
Dec. 10-17, 2007.
Check-In
Check-In was done during the 35 minute bus ride from the airport; our golden club suite was ready when we arrived at the resort.
The Room
Our beach front suite was spacious, comfortable and immaculate; always made up early in the day with turn down service while we were out for dinner. After some controversial forums on another site as to whether or not gifts are a good idea I only took a few items. Our maid, who we always tipped with cash came to our room to say "gracias for the gift" after I had left her a Canadian ball cap. Other employees told me they preferred gifts to cash, maybe it depends on the area you go to. I always tipped with cash; the gifts were a little something extra from Canada.
The Food
The food was AI resort food; the buffet had a good selection and nobody went hungry. The ala carte dates, times and restaurants were pre-selected for us with the option of changing any that didn't fit our schedule. Long pants are a must for men at both the buffet and ala carte dinners.
The Drinks
The bartenders were quick to replace your drink and got to know what you were drinking. Two of the more memorable bartenders were Santiago in the lobby and Israel at the Pueblo Principe and disco bar. The alcohol, what can I say...grande Brugals and free flowing cervezas.
The Beach, the Bay and the Pool
The beach and the water were a big disappointment. I had heard stories but could not fathom the severity of it until I experienced it first hand.
The beach was situated in a tropical setting with plenty of tall palms, palapas and lounges however they have a serious problem with sand fleas, even the hotel admits to it. (Plan not to be on the beach.) People were bitten so badly that they were not only covered in bites but their ankles were red and swollen making it necessary to use medication to relieve the irritation.
Early one morning we saw two employees with masks on and blowers fumigating the sand. Not a place you would want to walk barefoot afterwards or allow your children to build sandcastles.
Little black flies were also bad at the beach restaurant and out by the Pueblo Principe. Everybody including the animation staff slapped and itched.
The beach water was murky, according to the Bahia staff the problem is from a river not far from the resort. Apparently when it rains and it rained while we were there as we caught the tail end of tropical storm Olga, mud is washed down the river which stirs up the bay. I was told that after spending a lot of money on the beach area Bahia Principe has more plans to improve the beach with a water feature (not sure what can be done about the bugs and water though).
There is a little man made island not far from the beach which is a perfect place to visit for an hour or so. There are plenty of palapas and lounges making it a wonderful place to relax. The view from your own private little island was picturesque. A boat runs every hour on the hour or you can kayak or take a pedal boat out to it. As there are no services on the island other than a cooler full of bottled water, you could pack some drinks and a snack.
The pool area was pristine; well laid out with plenty of loungers and shade for everyone.
The Grounds
The grounds around the resort were gorgeous and immaculately kept a profusion of palms, shrubs and flowers.
Without warning, shortly after 6 pm they fog the resort, be prepared to run. If it wasn't so bad it would've been funny; picture it people sitting in the lobby having drinks suddenly disappear into a thick fog.
The Staff
The staff were excellent; they quickly learned your name and were very attentive. Some of the more memorable were Yinga (I hope I spelled it correctly) from the Golden Club, Santiago at the lobby bar, Cipriani I believe was the beverage supervisor, Tony from the animation team and Eddy the photo guy who loves you for free. I believe Eddy is now working at Casa del Mar. I know the very basics in Spanish and we had absolutely no problems communicating.
In my opinion, GBP La Romana is a great hotel with wonderful staff however it is in a very bad location.
Personally would I go back? No.
Would I recommend it to friends or family? Again no.
I posted several pictures of the resort, the good and the bad, at http://family.webshots.com/album/562054762KJUDpB
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| Gran Bahia Principe La Romana | Jessica | |
December 2007
Resort: Gran Bahia Principe La Romana (five star)
Where: La Romana, Dominican Republic
Arrival Date: Nov 26 2007 (only 26 days after the resort opened as a Bahia Principe Resort)
Arrival: Drive from the airport was about a 1/2 long and is an interesting tour of La Romana. Arrival at the resort was very smooth. Our room was not clean yet but a staff member came and found us before we even got off the bus and gave us a new room.
Accomodations: Very clean and comforable. All the rooms are suites with two double beds or one king. We had a king size bed. We had everything we could want, including bathrobe and slippers. On two different days, our mini-bar was not restocked and our washcloths disapeared one day and never came back and our bath mat left but returned after two days. We weren't bothered by any of these things but I'm sure we could've callled and had these issues resolved. There are ice machines under the stairs at each unit but none of them had ice in them yet. Also, the electricity went out for 30 secs or so at least once a day. We did not ask why and it didn't bother us at all. Just kind of funny.
Grounds: Very nice landscaping and very clean. No complaints.
Bars and Restuarants: No problems with either. The buffet always had excellent food, lots of choice, and varied from day to day. There is also a lunch buffet at the beach snack bar but it was not very good, just ok, but the food ordered off the menu was good. This was probably becuase it had not been sitting on a buffet line and was fresher. We went to two of the a la carte restuarants. The third was seafood and my husband is allergic to fish. Service at the Gourmet restuarant was absolutely terrible. Our reservation was for 9pm and we did not start on our main course until 10:15pm. It took 25 minutes for just the bread to arrive. Ten minutes after our plates had been cleared, no one had come back to take a dessert order, so we left. Maybe it was just a bad night. But the Italian restuarant was wonderful! Good food and good service. On a side note, both of us did have some stomach/digestion problems for a day or two but we just took it easy and recovered just fine.
Entertainment/Activities: We went kayaking on two days (the cove is very calm and easy to kayak in). There is a little island you can kayak to that has a beach and chairs. We watched the evening show a couple times and found it entertaining. There was also live music and dancing and we found the staff very talented and friendly.
Pool and Beach: Both were very clean and not crowded. There are more than enough beach chairs for everyone. Especcially at the beach! Nice long private beach with lots of palm trees. The beach and shoreline is raked daily and there is a net under the bouy line to keep unwanted sea creatures and debris out.
Tours: Went on two tours and recommend both of them. Crazy Wheels is well worth the money and lets you drive a dune buggy and an ATV through sugar cane plantations, countryside, and villages. Very interesting and fun trip. The 1/2 day snorkling takes you from the beach to Catalina Island. We snorkled a coral reef and saw lots of colourful fish and even jelly fish. Then we anchored at the shore and sat on the beach with rum or swam and snorkled some more. No coral here, but lots of very friendly fish that swim right along with you. On the way out to the island we stopped to watch a school of dolphins swim around our boat. On the way home we ran out of gas (probably from stopping to watch the dolphins) but nobody cared because we were on vacation so what's the rush? And we still had rum in the cooler. Also, we were stopped in a very large jelly fish group. They were all around the boat and you could see them glowing way down. Amazing to watch.
Conclusion: We had a great time and would recommend this resort to anyone. It is rated as a five star resort. There are no other resorts or towns in walking distance, which makes is a very private and quiet resort and leaves the beach feeling very much like your own private piece of paradise.
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Last updated: May 17, 2009
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